How Does RPS Determine When They’ll Close For Bad Weather?

When bad weather hits we get a bunch of calls asking if school's been cancelled. What exactly goes into making that decision?

Growing up you'd always listen to the radio just waiting for the announcement that school's been cancelled whenever it snowed or got really cold. If you ever wondered what the magic number was that made administrators pull the plug we've got some bad news. The Rockford Public School District just released this memo on their website explaining what goes into their decision making.

Timing: The decision to close schools during extreme weather is made as early as possible, often very early in the morning. The decision is based on the best weather information available and how inclement weather will affect students, staff and parents during travel times.

Temperatures: There's no official temperature that closes schools. The superintendent and his leadership team consider several factors, including road conditions. Typically a wind chill of negative 25 will start the conversation about closing schools.

Who Decides: Canceling school because of inclement weather is the superintendent's decision, and he communicates with his leadership team to make the best decision for our students.

Basically it seems like it's totally up to the Superintendent to pull the trigger on cancelling school. Keep listening to 1440 WROK in the morning for updates of head over to 13 WREX's school closings page which can be found here.